Coffee Jelly

If you are a coffee person who happens to like jelly, you’ll probably love this. Winter is fast approaching in my part of the world but on a busy afternoon (or a boring one), instead of hot coffee I enjoy a glass of trim milk with a little bit of sugar and coffee jelly. On a hot summer day, I can imagine adding crushed ice and a bit of almond liqueur. Sago at arnibal! Oh the list can go on. I’ve also tried it with Coke and it’s awesome. Dilat na dilat ang mata ko buong maghapon! I’m talking about cola – the fizzy drink.

I will start with how I usually make our coffee in the morning. You can omit this part and go straight to making your own instant coffee.

Boil 2 1/2 cups of water. Pour some hot water to plunger to preheat. Discard and leave for a minute.

Add grind coffee to plunger. Fill with 2 cups of hot water. Stir, put the lid on and allow coffee to brew for about 4 minutes. Plunge and pour into a saucepan.

Add sugar to coffee and stir until dissolved.

In a separate bowl, slowly pour 4 tbsp of water to agar agar while stirring using a whisk.

Once combined, stir into coffee mixture. Heat over medium heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour into tray or container and allow to cool to room temperature. Chill overnight.

When ready, flip the tray over on a plate or chopping board.

Cut into cubes and stir into your preferred drink.

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Coffee Jelly

Author: Iska

Recipe type: Drink

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Ingredients

2 tablespoonful of strong, good quality grind coffee to make 2 cups (or you can make instant coffee)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp agar agar powder

4 tbsp hot water

Instructions

(I start with how I usually make our coffee in the morning. You can omit this part and go straight to making your own instant coffee.) Boil 2½ cups of water. Pour some hot water to plunger to preheat. Discard and leave for a minute.

Add grind coffee to plunger. Fill with 2 cups of hot water. Stir, put the lid on and allow coffee to brew for about 4 minutes. Plunge and pour into a saucepan.

Add sugar to coffee and stir until dissolved.

In a separate bowl, slowly pour 4 tbsp of water to agar agar while stirring using a whisk.

Once combined, stir into coffee mixture. Heat over medium heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour into tray or container and allow to cool to room temperature. Chill overnight.

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.